


Friendly Competition

by jankykang



Category: Octopath Traveler (Video Game)
Genre: Arm Wrestling, Established Relationship, F/F, buff h'aanit appreciation squad, kinda gen but mostly this is about the power of lesbianism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-08-14 16:30:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20195278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jankykang/pseuds/jankykang
Summary: “Who do y’all think is stronger? H’aanit or Olberic?”Alfyn asks a question and there's only one way to find the answer: arm wrestling.





	Friendly Competition

**Author's Note:**

> takes place after h'aanit's chapter 3

Stillsnow was not Primrose’s favourite village they had visited.

The winds of the Frostlands were unrelenting, as if it wasn’t cold enough to begin with. Even in the middle of the day when the sun was overhead, she found it unnervingly easy to picture her toes freezing and falling right off. It was a wonder she had even made it the short distance from the inn to the tavern that night.

Then again, she couldn’t find much to complain about after spending a couple hours in the tavern with her companions—not that she would have complained out loud, of course. A few drinks and the amiable conversation had made the trek worth it, so much so that the walk back to the inn didn’t seem all too daunting.

She turned to H’aanit next to her. The huntress’ shoulders were bare because she had given Primrose the heavy fur she usually wore around her neck. Had Primrose been the type to swoon, she imagined she would have when H’aanit had wrapped it around her shoulders earlier, saying she could manage the cold without it.

And while the fur had done a wonderful job of keeping Primrose warm, or at least, warmer than she would have been without it, she could still choose to delegate that job to H’aanit’s arms.

It was getting late. Cyrus and Ophilia had already retired to their rooms and the tavern would surely be closing soon. It wouldn’t be unreasonable for Primrose to say her goodnights now and head back to the inn. She leaned over and reached out to H’aanit, lightly trailing a finger down her arm to get her attention.

“I think I’m ready to—”

“_Say_,” Alfyn exclaimed suddenly, punctuating himself by slamming his empty tankard onto the table. “You know what I’ve been wondering lately?”

Primrose was a bit annoyed by the interruption, but Alfyn was always a good source of entertainment. She leaned back into her seat, keeping her hand on H’aanit’s arm, and decided to humour him. “What’s that?”

“Who do y’all think is stronger? H’aanit or Olberic?”

_H’aanit_, Primrose decided immediately. Sure, Olberic was a strong enough knight to have earned a nickname for himself, but in Primrose’s mind, there was no competition.

“Hmmm…” Tressa leaned on the table and hummed thoughtfully. “That’s a good question! Olberic is bigger, obviously.”

“I’ll say! Look at this.” Alfyn grabbed Olberic’s bicep with both of his hands. “I can barely get my hands around this thing!” Olberic looked a little bemused by the sudden invasion of his personal space, but allowed it anyway.

“But,” Tressa continued. “I bet H’aanit has wrestled more bears than she can count.”

All eyes were suddenly on H’aanit, as if Tressa had just offered a serious analysis.

“That is not…” H’aanit looked around at everyone’s expectant faces. “I do not wrestle with bears.”

“She could, though,” said Primrose, though she had no evidence to back up that claim other than the fact that she believed it was true, and that she wanted to support her girlfriend.

Alfyn stroked his chin. “It’s a tough call, ain’t it?”

“Well,” Therion joined in the discussion. “There _is_ a very simple way to find your answer.”

“Gosh, Therion,” laughed Alfyn. “You gonna make ‘em fight for our entertainment?”

“Not fight. Clear off the table,” Therion instructed.

Alfyn cleared off the table, which mostly just consisted of returning empty cups to the bar.

“Olberic, trade seats with me.”

Olberic traded seats with Therion.

“There. Now you two can arm wrestle for the title.”

Alfyn laughed loudly. “You’re a genius, buddy!” Therion’s new spot unfortunately made it easy for Alfyn to throw an arm around his shoulders and jostle him fondly. Therion tried swatting him away, but to no avail.

Primrose watched as H’aanit and Olberic observed each other. From what she could tell, they were both thinking the same thing. They were too mature to feel the need to prove their strength against one another, and yet their competitive spirits couldn’t just let the challenge go.

After a moment, H’aanit turned and looked at Primrose inquisitively. “What dost thou think?”

“You could kick his ass,” Primrose told her. “No offense, Olberic.”

“None taken,” he replied with a soft laugh. “To be honest, it has been a while since I’ve had such a worthy opponent.”

H’aanit smiled a small, confident smile and turned back to Olberic. “Letten us finden the answer, then.” She rested an elbow on the table and extended her hand halfway to Olberic, who mirrored the position.

“Oh yeah, here we go,” Alfyn said when their palms met. He braced himself on the table, like he could hardly bear the excitement. “I’ll count you down. Ready? Three, two—”

“Wait! Wait, wait, wait,” Tressa interrupted. “I can’t just sit by and let this happen without making it a little more interesting.”

Therion chuckled. “Of course you would.”

“Anyone care to place a bet?”

Primrose wanted to laugh as she watched Alfyn, Tressa, and Therion start to seriously consider the match-up now that there were some real stakes involved.

Therion was the first to make his decision. “My money’s on H’aanit,” he said, sliding a few coins across the table towards Tressa. “Need I remind you all that she slew a godsdamned dragon today?”

He did not—celebrating H’aanit’s victory that afternoon was largely the reason they had even spent so long in the tavern to begin with.

“I had help,” said H’aanit, ever humble.

“Not from Olberic though, so we don’t have much to compare for that point. Unless…” Tressa trailed off, turning to Olberic.

“I have never slain a dragon, unfortunately.”

“Aw man,” said Alfyn. “All those years of knighthood, and you didn’t slay a single dragon?”

“Actually, dragon-killing probably left H’aanit pretty tired, so maybe Olberic has the advantage now,” Tressa mused.

“That’s a good point!” Alfyn exclaimed. “But now, here’s something else to think about: Olberic has been drinking!”

“So?” Tressa asked.

“_So_, maybe _he’s_ the sleepy one!”

“But,” Therion chimed in, “being drunk might just make him immune to mind games. You can’t ignore the psychological aspect of these kinds of things.”

Olberic frowned. “I’m not drunk.”

“Pfft, okay, _professor_,” Tressa teased Therion, ignoring Olberic completely. “You still betting on H’aanit, then?”

Therion took a second to think it over. “No, I’m revoking that. I’m for Olberic, now.”

“Fickle,” Primrose commented, only half-joking. Therion rolled his eyes.

“Alright,” Tressa continued. “What about you, Alfyn? Have you made up your mind?”

“Hmm…” Alfyn crossed his arms and tipped his chair back as he considered. “I still think it’s a close call, but… I’m gonna have to go with Olberic on this one.” He shifted his weight forward to return all four of his chair legs to the ground with a heavy _thud_ and put his coins on the table.

“That’s two for Olberic…” Tressa paused, then reached into her own pocket and produced her bet. “Three, actually.”

Primrose didn’t necessarily blame the other three for their poor judgment, but she was glad that she knew better.

“I’m sorry to be the one to break it to you all, but you’re fools,” she said, adding her money to the pool. “I’m betting on H’aanit.”

“That’s the spirit!” Alfyn shouted, not unused to being called a fool. “Alright, let’s get on to the main event, yeah?”

“Yeah, quickly—it’s past Olberic’s bedtime,” Therion joked.

Olberic just smiled and cracked his knuckles.

“What was that, an intimidation tactic?” Primrose asked. She had gotten out of her chair and was now standing behind H’aanit, massaging her shoulders like a prizefighter.

“Nah, that’s just his arthritis,” Tressa said, getting a laugh out of everyone.

Olberic sighed and held his arm out to H’aanit. A while ago, he probably would have objected to these jokes, saying he wasn’t _that_ old. It hadn’t taken him long to give up on that and accept that it was simply his burden to bear as the oldest in the group.

Primrose gave H’aanit’s shoulders a final, gentle squeeze before sitting back down. Then, after hesitating for just a second, she placed a finger under H’aanit’s chin and pulled her face towards her own.

Neither of them were particularly big on public displays of affection, but Primrose couldn’t just let H’aanit go into this without a good luck kiss. Primrose briefly saw H’aanit’s eyes grow wide before she closed her own and their lips met. She kept it short and sweet, pulling away after a couple seconds with a smile on her face.

“You got this,” she whispered with a wink.

She felt her heart swell at the look in H’aanit’s eyes—something both soft and fierce at the same time. Primrose hoped that the adoration she felt was coming across clearly in her expression.

“Okay, I’m changing my bet,” Alfyn announced, drawing Primrose and H’aanit’s attention away from each other. He was wearing his goofiest and most endearing grin. “Thanks, Prim, for reminding me that H’aanit has the power of love on her side!”

Tressa giggled, H’aanit blushed, and Primrose simply nodded.

“Good to see you’re wising up.”

Alfyn continued. “Not that we don’t all love our good buddy Olberic! But that’s not quite the same.”

“Alright, alright,” Therion said, laughing quietly. “Let’s get on with it.”

With that, H’aanit and Olberic got into position.

“I shall only request,” said H’aanit, “that thou would not holden back against me.”

“I wouldn’t dare,” assured Olberic.

“On three,” Tressa instructed. “One, two, three!”

Everyone watched, on their edge of their seats, as H’aanit and Olberic immediately began to strain against one another. They both held steady at the beginning, neither side giving anything up, and Primrose’s gaze started to wander. After about half a minute though, Tressa gasped excitedly, reminding Primrose that there was more to look at than H’aanit’s bicep, supposedly.

When she turned her attention back to their joined hands, she saw that Olberic had begun to gain purchase, slowly pressing H’aanit’s hand towards the surface of the table.

H’aanit’s expression hardened as she fought against the movement, and Primrose, against her own expectations, felt herself get nervous. She still believed in H’aanit completely, but the tension was getting to her.

Just then, H’aanit turned her head and looked at Primrose. It wasn’t clear what exactly she was looking for, but she must have found it. Primrose saw the resolve in H’aanit’s eyes grow as sharp as the axe on her hip, and when she turned back, H’aanit’s hand had pushed Olberic’s back far enough that they were even again.

But H’aanit didn’t stop there. She kept fighting and kept pressing Olberic’s hand closer to the table. Primrose resisted the urge to shout when Olberic’s knuckles finally made contact, but the rest of the group more than made up for her silence.

“I knew it!” Alfyn said between long, wordless cheers. “I told y’all, love is the strongest force in the world!”

“You didn’t say that, actually,” Therion pointed out.

“Didn’t I? Aw, you’re just mad ‘cause you switched sides and lost!”

“That was amazing!” Tressa exclaimed. “I’m not even upset about losing, that’s how amazing H’aanit is!” She paused and looked down at the pile of coins on the table. “Okay, I’m a little upset… but only a little!”

Olberic laughed. “Perhaps I need to add ‘slay a dragon’ to my to-do list.”

“We shall have a rematch once thou completeth the task,” said H’aanit.

“But for now,” Primrose said, looping her arm around H’aanit’s. “I think I’ll collect my winnings and bring our strongest back to the inn with me, if that’s alright.”

As Tressa started to divvy up the gold, Alfyn waved his hand.

“You can take it all,” he told Primrose. “I don’t need any. Treat yourself to something nice.”

“Thank you, Alfyn,” Primrose said, genuinely grateful but not really surprised. She tucked most of the gold away into her small pouch, leaving a little bit on the table. “At least buy yourself one more drink before you get kicked out.”

“Will do!” Alfyn laughed loudly. “See ya in the morning!”

With that, Primrose and H’aanit left the tavern, arm in arm. Primrose’s mind was already busy thinking up ways to spoil H’aanit with her winnings as they crossed the room. A practical gift was her first thought, but there wasn’t quite enough for something like a new axe or bow. Maybe some arrows or backup bowstring would be a good idea? Of course, she could also put it towards a nice, romantic meal for the two of them, or—

“I do not know that I deserven such a title,” H’aanit said once they were outside, pulling Primrose out from her thoughts.

“Hm? Why not?” She tightened her grip on the pelt around her shoulders. Being smaller than H’aanit, Primrose had to hold it in place around her to keep it tight so that the wind couldn’t blow beneath it.

“’Tis too vague. There are plenty of ways in which thou art stronger than me, besides raw physical power.”

Primrose smiled and pressed closer to H’aanit’s side. “Oh? Like what?”

H’aanit laughed softly. “Mentally, emotionally, socially. In those ways, there is not a soul stronger than thee.”

Primrose was too taken aback to respond right away. Socially, she could understand. Charming people was an essential part of her trade, after all. But mentally? She wasn’t dumb by a long shot, but surely Cyrus had her beat on that front. And emotionally… Primrose didn’t think she would have described herself as emotionally strong. It felt like a blatant lie, after so many years of repressing everything but anger. She was a far cry from inner peace, that much she knew.

But then she remembered how Tressa and Therion had bet on Olberic that night, and the simple certainty she had felt that they were wrong. Suddenly, H’aanit’s words made a little more sense.

Primrose looked up into the night sky. It was clear, with a full moon surrounded by countless twinkling stars lighting their way.

Maybe Stillsnow wasn’t _all_ bad.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! and shout out to anyone who understands the rules of h'aanit's speech pattern, because i sure don't!


End file.
